Russell ancotti



R. ANCOTTI AND P. G. MARTONE.

ClRCUfi BREAKER 0R CUT-OUT. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 1917- 1,310, 1 1 1 Patentd July 15, 1919,

INVENTORS. KR. mail; A 6- Mvtau,

/ ATTORNEY.

RUSSELL corn, or

wnsr srmnermm, SPRINGFIELD, massacnosn'r'rs.

AND PASQUALE a. MARTONE, or

I CIRCUIT-BREAKER OR CUT-OUT.

Specification of Letters Patent. g Patented July 15, 1919.

Application flied February28, 1917. Serial No. 151,813.

To all whom it may concern v Be it 'known that we, RUSSELL .Aivoo'r'ri and PASQUALE G. Mnn'ronn, respectlvely an Italian subject and a citizen of the United States of America, and residents of West Springfield, and Springfield, respectively, .in the county of Hampdcn and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circuit-Breakers or Cut-Outs, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description.

Thisinvention relates to automatic circuit breakers or cut outs for electrical currents, to be used in various situations, one of which being in electric cars between the power wire and themotor.

The object of this invention is to provide an automatic circuit breaker which, while comparatively of simple and inexpensive construction will be especially effective for preventing or obscuring the spark or flash con-current with the breaking of thecircuit when the tension becomes too hi h.

Other advantages will be hereinafter rendered apparent. Y

The invention is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and is set forth in the claims.

In the drawings Figures 1 and 2 are sectional elevations of the automatic circuit breaker showing the parts respectively off and on.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view for more clearly showing the relations of contacts and the bridging member included in'the apparatus.

Fig. 4c is a partial cross sectional view on a larger scale as taken on line 4-l, Fig. 1, and

Fig. 5 is a partial cross sectional view as taken on line 5-'5, Fig: 1.

Referring to the drawings, in which the apparatus is represented as the same has been constructed and operated, A represents a supporting frame which may advantageously be in the form. of an inclosing casing. B represents a bar, here represented as slidable vertically through suitable guides at therefor within the casing, or support.

The bar B has a bridging portion or member Z) to cooperate with contact members I c, the latter being made as swinging levers pivoted at d 6 and having. widened extensions for bearing contacts on the bridging portion 1).

I The bridging portion 7) has at one end a block f of insulatin material, and one of .the contacts, (here t e one e) has at its end a block 9 of insulating material.

These are so provided, as will be seen on comparison of Fi s. 1 and '2, that when the device is set, or on, these insulating portions in no way break or impair the electric connection betweenthe contacts (I and ,0, while when the device is sprung, or off, and the connection bet-ween the contact (Z and 6 broken, the insulating portions f and g are brought in engagement and retained in contact relations, that is the swingingmembers (Z and 6, may not by their springs it be thrown to an improper or blocking relation to the bar.

The bar B has a collar or lug i afiixed thereto between which and one of the guides is a spring j in compression and operable to exert a force in an upward direction to the bar.

0 represents an electroina-gnet, of which D is its armature, here shown as hung on the pivot D and having attached to its upper arm a latch E, which coacts with a shoulder or abutment 70 carried as a fixed part of the slidable bar B.

When the armature is unattracted to, and

off from the electromagnet, the latch E is moved to a position of engagement with the stop is of the'drawn down bar B and will hold the latter to maintain relations of the parts represented in Figs. 2 and 3 until the energy of the magnet becomes reat enough to attract the armature and e fi e ct the latch release and permit the upward movement of the bar.

H represents a cylindrical casing arranged in suitablerelation to the bar B and with its axis parallel thereto.

In the lowef'portion of' this casing is a contact member m above .which also within the casing is another contact member 0 which is movable toward and against the contact an and away and to separation from the contact m.

' The contact 0 made in the form of a plunger with the stem 2 which protrudes through and beyond the top of the casing H, has a plunger contact 0 toward and against the V fixed contact m.

The stem of the plunger contact has near I tending arm t, which is of apertured or yoke shape, at itsextremity, whereby it may have the sliding movement relatively 'to the stem 7) for a lost motion engagement with the shoulder s.

the. winding wire of the electromagnet C; K

is an insulated wire connecting with the winding wire of the electromagnet and connected with the fixed casing-inclosed contact m; L is a conductor connected with the stem of the movable casing-contained contact 0 and with the spring-pressed pivoted contact d,

and M is an insulated wire connected to and running away from the other-spring pressed contact 6.

Proper insulation is provided between the contacts 0 and m, and the inclosing casing therefor, and otherwise in various portions of the apparatus as manifestly necessary; and the cylindrical casing inclosing the last mentioned contacts has a lining u of asbestos.

The armature D is provided with an arm 'v to which one end of aspring o is connected, the other end of which spring is secured to a screw 12 which threads through a lug a secured to the casing support, and which screw has the capability of endwise adjustments by being turned to vary the tension of the spring, and, consequently, to vary the resistance against the traction by the electromagnet of the armature.

Assuming the parts are set for the on or closed condition of the device, as may be done by pulling the bar B downwardly -through its handle B compressing the spring 7 and permitting the latch E to automatically engage the shoulder is, and permitting the contact 0 to be forced by its spring 9 onto the contact m as represented in Fig. 2, the parts will remain in the relations there shown so long as the electric current passing through the device is not excessive.

An excessive current will so increase the energy of-the electromagnet C .as to pull its armature to it and cause the disengagement of the latc-h'E from the bar B.

The bar will now be forced upwardly by the recoil of its springj, whereupon the arnrt will engage the shoulder s and force the contact 0, within the casing H, 11pwardly against its spring 9 and away from the fixed contact 922., initially breaking the circuit; and any are will be extinguished within and by the casing; and substantially simultaneously with this action, but infinitesi-mally later, the final upward movement of the bar .carries the bridging portion 1) so that electrical connection .is broken .be-

tween the contacts d and e as will be perceived by the coincident relations of the insulating blocks f and g in Fig. 1. H

'It will also be perceived that this apparatus is so organized as to efiect an opening of the current conductors in two places, initially between the contacts 0, m, within the casing, and subsequently between the contacts d and e, such capabilities being deemed .desirable in an apparatus of this class.

The armature is shown as provided with a stem w extended at an accessible place at the exterior of the casing support A, which stem has a handle or push knob.

\Vhen the parts of the circuit breaker are closed or on, and the armature oil from the electromagnet, Fig. 2, and it is desired to place the device in open condition, this may be done by merely pushing the stem to with a sufficient force toward the electromagnet for manually and mechanically accomplishing the last mentioned object.

Considerable latitude of change in the details of construction and the general arrangement of the parts comprised in this device a may be made within the scope of our invention, and the device instead 0t being used in an upright manner as represented in the drawings, may be inverted, turned half way around, or otherwise placed as may be desirable or necessary under any circumstances.

Ne. claim:

1. An overload circuit breaker consisting of a closed box having its interior faces insulated, a fixed sparking member mounted in said box, a movable sparking member in said box adapted to engage a fixed sparking member, a rod connected with said movable sparking member and extending through and insulated from the box, means for holdingsaid movable sparking member nor mally engaged with the fixed sparking member, an overload magnet electrically connected with the fixed sparking member, an armature for said magnet, a rod connected with the first rod and adapted to sepa- 'rate the movable sparking member from the fixed sparking member, means for moving said-rod to separate said contact members, a latch connected with said armature for holding said second named rod against movement, a pair of spaced contact members one of which is connected with said movable contact member and means carried by said second named rod for establishing electrical connection between said contact members when said second named rod is in normal position and adapted to break contact between the contact members when the armature has been attracted by said magnet. 2. An overload circuit breaker consisting of a spring actuated rod having a. lug thereon, an overload magnet, an armature for said magnet, a latch connected with said armature and adapted to engage said lug to hold said rodalndcr tension, a spring for holding said armature away from said magnet, a pair of spaced contact members one of which is provided with insulation disposed between the members, a bridge piece carried by said rod and adapted to establish electrical contact between said contact members when said latch is engaged with said lug, said bridge piece being provided with an insulation element adapted to register with the insulation of the contact members when said latch is disengaged from said lug, an arm carried by said rod, a closed box the interior of which is completely insulated, a fixed sparking member therein having electrical connections with the magnet, a movable named contact members, and a spring for holding said movable member normally engaged with said fixed member in said box, said rod and arm being adapted-t0 separate said movable and fixed members when the latch has been actuated by the magnet.

- Signed by us at Springfi presence of at subscribing wltness.

RUSSELL ANCOTTI. PASQUALE G. MARTONE. .Witness:

G. R. DRISCOLL.

eld, Mass, in 

